Virtual School Is No Longer an Option If It Snows, but Some N.J. Educators Want to Change That

New Jersey winters and education: two items not always synonymous with one another. But some New Jersey educators and lawmakers are trying to change that, as they seek to expand the state’s rule to allow occasional virtual schooling from home. New Jersey educators say students shouldn’t have to choose between a good education and a safe commute in the winter.
Some New Jersey educators are pushing to bring back the option of using virtual learning to make up for snow days, like districts in 11 other states do, but state education officials haven’t said whether they would support such a move.
At a time when school districts are struggling with tight budgets and a growing number of school closings, some educators are throwing their support behind legislation that would make it easier to get kids out of class on snow days. It’s one of a handful of ideas being floated in the aftermath of a recent blizzard, during which many NJ school districts canceled classes not because it was too dangerous for children to get to school but because unsafe roads prevented buses from safely transporting students.
The virtual school has long been an option, but several teachers and state officials cut out the middleman after the snowstorm forced schools to close across New Jersey, saying that not using virtual instruction was another example of government waste.  
Richard Bozza, the executive director of the NJASA, said that the group organized a committee of 10 members to prepare a preliminary document of a proposal for the upcoming legislative session that would begin in January. Bozza said that school districts must have this option available for them to consider. A spokesperson for the NJEA informed about the association’s decision to defer commenting on this matter until they see any new proposals.
Some New Jersey public school districts cancel classes if the weather is worse than what they consider safe for traveling. But one group of state educators wants that option to be mandatory, even when it snows. That’s the only way many kids will be able to get any schoolwork done in the winter.
The winter break can also be utilized by children to learn online. Suppose your child wants to learn Japanese. But given the limited time, you would probably think it’s not at all possible to master the language within a short period. Online language teaching apps are of immense help here, along with several courses to work on the language at home. Your child can learn to speak in no time. This is a perfect idea for making up for the canceled classes due to snowstorms and utilizing the time in something productive.
Steve Baker, another NJEA spokesperson said that if there were something considerably significant in the situation, they would have certainly looked at it and ran an analysis. Richard Bozza did not attend the meeting held on Tuesday. He said that the director of government relations for the organization, Melanie Schulz led the meeting on Tuesday. Instead of conducting a meeting where everyone would be present in person, they conducted the meeting in the virtual mode of communication.
New Jersey public school students are required under law to spend at least 180 days in the classroom. But for the past two academic years, another option has been allowed for districts struggling with student absenteeism because of inclement weather: virtual learning.
After the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus and the resultant lockdown worldwide, virtual learning was allowed in New Jersey from March 2020, and it was about to remain such for the entire session of 2020-2021. But one of Governor Phil Murphy’s executive orders prohibited the allowance of virtual learning for most of 2021. This order was executed under state law which requires schools to have a minimum of 180 days of offline instruction. 
Although New Jersey’s education policy does not allow for virtual schooling beyond March 2020, there are some educators who believe that Murphy should reverse the order. They argue that the 180 days requirement should not apply to virtual learning since it is not based on classroom instruction.
The state education department’s policy is to wait out school closures in inclement weather. Shaheed M. Morris, the spokesperson for the state education department, explained that schools would only remain closed when the governor declares a state of emergency or a civil defense director orders an evacuation of a community due to a public health emergency. As a backing of these exceptions, Bozza referred to the shutdown of schools in the after-effects of the Hurricane named Ida and said that is an example of the kind of circumstances in which shifting to virtual learning seems reasonable. Before the pandemic, there were rarely any exceptions to the requirement of in-person classroom instructions.